Monday, 12 January 2015

MUMBAI: Adani Enterprises, India's biggest private power producer and port owner, is taking giant strides in the energy sector - planning to make solar panels that can generate competitively priced electricity and investing in LNG sourcing and oil and gas exploration. It's agreed to set up a joint venture with SunEdison that will invest.Rs 25,000 crore, or $4 billion, to make India's biggest solar photovoltaic manufacturing facility and signed an accord with Australia's Woodside Energy in the oil and gas business. The solar plant, to be constructed in Mundra, Gujarat, over a three-year period, will make low-cost panels capable of producing electricity that costs as much as power generated by using traditional fuels. The facility will manufacture solar panels to fuel solar power growth in India, furthering India's goals for clean, renewable energy independence, and will add up to 20,000 jobs to the local economy," Adani and New York listed SunEdison said in a joint statement on Sunday. The venture will boost domestic solar equipment supply to meet the huge requirement of the sector in which Coal, Power and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal is aiming for unprecedented growth. The solar energy sector has so far imported huge amounts of low-cost Chinese equipment, drawing criticism from local suppliers.

"This facility will create ultra-low cost solar panels that will enable us to produce electricity so cost effectively it can compete head to head, unsubsidised and without incentives, with fossil fuels," he said. "By pairing SunEdison's solar technology expertise with Adani's extensive experience in the creation of infrastructure, we will be able to transform the region into a solar production powerhouse, creating 4,500 direct jobs and over 15,000 indirect jobs." Adani Power said the development of the largest integrated solar manufacturing facility furthers the vision of Modi's 'Make in India' campaign. "We are happy to partner with SunEdison, a leading solar technology manufacturer, t o build this facility which further integrates our power - renewable business value chain and has significant socio-economic benefits," said Vneet S Jaain, chief executive officer of Adani Power. During the first half of 2015, SunEdison and Adani will conduct a comprehensive analysis of the opportunity and business plan before starting construction of the facility, the statement added. On Saturday, debt-laden wind turbine maker Suzlon Energy announced plans to invest.Rs 24,000 crore over the next five years in wind energy projects in Gujarat. Welspun Renewables said that it will spend Rs 8,300 crore in the state and has signed two MoUs for 500 MW wind and 600 MW solar capacities with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam.Comment:

In my view the investment in solar sector will lead to the sustainability.In India, majority of solar panels are imported from china,due to their low cost.So, the investment in manufacturing of solar panels will add profit to solar sector in India.

The goal of installing 100,000 MW solar power plant by 2020 is now seems achievable.But the question arises that whether the solar panels will cost lower than Chinese products or not.But with this news domestic solar panel manufacturers will be quite happy.